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Post by Tony Madge - HJG on Jan 27, 2014 7:35:50 GMT
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Post by niclong81 on Jan 27, 2014 8:09:08 GMT
Nice repaint!
Niclong81
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Post by thegetter on Jan 27, 2014 14:04:48 GMT
Love those 100's! Nice Paint, TheGetter!  |
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Post by aerofoto - HJG Admin on Jan 27, 2014 19:07:53 GMT
I remember .... during 1984 we had AIR NAURU operate their B727-100's through AKL .... a couple of times only. At one stage, around this time, their maintenance got "SO BAD" that we/the New Zealand Civil Aviation Department suspended their operating certificate into New Zealand. At the time they were operating B737-200 ADV's into Auckland .... and after their brief suspension the maintenance contract for these was awarded to AIR NEW ZEALAND. Their B727-100C's covered the airlines route from Nauru to Auckland which, during those days, was operated via either Nandi/Fiji and/or Honiara/Solomon Islands .... but .... knowing AIR NAURU (of back then) they could just turn up from anywhere .... with and about as much warning as a cruise missile too. Years later .... during the early 1990's .... I was was forced to frequently fly with AIR NAURU on the Auckland/Niue Island route (when I was Tourism Photographer for Niue Island). I'd no misgivings about the airline by this stage .... since it was still being kept under close scrutiny by both the New Zrealand and Australian Aivil Aviation Departments .... with maintenance, and pilot training and profociuency checks, still being undertaken by AIR NEW ZEALAND too. AIR NAURU was quite a different airline by this stage .... and by which time their 3 B727-100's had been disposed of and replacerd with 3 B737-200 ADV's (one of which .... C2-RN3 I think it was .... was equipped with a gravel deflection kit for operation into remote/lesser developed coral strips around the central Pacific region), F28's (which we never saw in Auckland), and later 2 B737-400's too. I flew on their B737-200's and 400's "A LOT" .... doing "a lot" of jump seat rides across the Pacific too back in these days when I was "authorised" to be able to do so .... until 9/11 changed "EVERYTHING". Just a few AIR NAURU memories .... of mine  "I think" AIR NAURU might have disbanded after they stopped flying into New Zealand .... sometime around the late 1990's .... BUT .... I think it's also been restarted again, during more recent times, and has bee renamed "OUR AIRLINE" .... and then based from Brisbane, Australia. Mark C AKL/NZ |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 27, 2014 20:10:08 GMT
Struck me strange that Air Nauru had bad maintenance record considering the fact that island of Nauru was the richest country in the world and should be able to afford finest maintenance attention by subcontractors, richer than any oil producing country!!
Smiling
Regards,
Aharon
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Post by aerofoto - HJG Admin on Jan 27, 2014 22:19:17 GMT
"YES" .... the Republic Of Nauru "WAS" one of the, if not "THE", richest of the Pacific island nations/states. It was the guano (bird nuts/fertilizer) industry there that promoted this fact .... BUT .... their government "squandered/wasted" everything ($$$$$$). Despite the incredible wealth this industry brought Nauru .... the island/country never, really, developed .... as anyone who's been there for any period will probably testify. AIR NAURU's problems were born of its (the countries) isolation as much as for its lack of professionalism too .... in that it had a fairly modern fleet (for the times), but, lacked the experience/expertise to manage it, and in particular the means to ensure it was maintained properly also .... AND ... the routes it mostly serviced, prior to servicing Auckland/New Zealand, from the early 1980's, weren't much better either (in any case there's no tourism, to speak of, to or from Nauru and its airline was essentially little more than "a government air taxi service" anyway) and lacked the necessary "BOEING APROVED" facilities necessary to perform major or heavy engineering work .... and which is why we/AIR NEW ZEALAND were, eventually, contracted to do it, as well as look after their pilot training and proficiency endorsements for them too, since we operate a world reknown heavy engineering facility at Christchurch, which has been reponsible for servicing B737-200/300 aircraft from around the world for a very long time .... as well as an equally world reknown simulator and pilot training facility (again AIR NEW ZEALAND's) at Auckland and which is also used, extensively, by any number of other airlines from around the Pacific basin. AIR NAURU's only real success was during the early to mid 1990's .... when it won an air services contract to provide scheduled flights between Auckland and Nuie Island (still closely monitored by the New Zealand Civil Aviation Department though since Niue is under New Zealand jurisdiction), and which did have a reasonable population base as well as a respctable and growing/fledgling tourism industry too (which is what took me there/to Niue so consistenly over a 3 year period). In fact the airlines Auckland/Niue/Auckland flights (occasionally operated via Tongatapu, for refuelling, on the return sector to Auckland when loadings, out of Niue, were full .... because of Niue's, then, shorter field length) were nearly always sold out during this period. On one memorable occasion coming out of Niue I knew the captain quite well. Prior to departure I asked if I could come-up-front .... which he immediately approved. Our flight (B737-200 ADV C2-RN8) was full that particular day .... and there were many others, at Niue, whom needed to get on, but, couldn't be accomodated .... ANYWAY .... after we arrived at Tongatapu, for refuelling, I left the flightdeck with the intention of taking up my original PAX seat for the remainder of the flight to Auckland .... only to find it was now occupied by another PAX .... because the Cabin Purser had loaded an extra PAX, in my place, after noting I'd been accomodated on the flightdeck. TO CUT A LONG STORY SHORT .... a bit of a discussuion then took place, about me and my immediate future on that particular flight, the outcome of which was, rather than download me in Tongatapu (since I was a "free-loader anyway), I was dragged back up to the flightdeck, and accomodated there, in order for me to be able complete the rest of my flight down to Auckland. I wasn't complaining though Getting back to Nauru .... and the wealth it generated during the 1970's/80's/90's .... and what that might conjure up in the minds of some  Waelth should never be confused with quality .... or even professionalism either for that matter. The truth can, sometimes, be quite the opposite .... and "a whole lot darker" too .... BUT .... I think I've said enough now Mark C AKL/NZ |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 28, 2014 0:35:54 GMT
Mark,
Thanks for interesting explanations. I did not know that such incredible wealth is not necessarily a guarantee of good maintenance and/or safety standards.
Regards,
Aharon
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Post by darrenvox on Jan 30, 2014 0:23:46 GMT
nice one!!
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Post by aerofoto - HJG Admin on Jan 31, 2014 6:45:41 GMT
Folks may not have realised it .... BUT .... Tony has also recently added the later/modified version of AIR NAURU livery as applied to its B727-100's (C2-RN5 "Chief Diamom") .... and among which the AIR nAURU B727-100C leased by TRANS AUSTRALIA AIRLINES CARGO (C2-RN7 "Ernest GILES") during the 1980's is also included too.
Mark C
AKL/NZ
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Post by darrenvox on Feb 7, 2014 20:06:24 GMT
almost fogot, this  will go great with the 727... awesome man |
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Post by aerofoto - HJG Admin on Feb 7, 2014 20:17:08 GMT
YEAH .... but .... HJG don't, currently, represent the B737-200 Mark C AKL/NZ |
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